Saving griefWhere there's a will, there's a way for you to have your wishes fulfilled after you're gone. Without one, family members, usually children, are left scrambling.

Blue chips, foreign funds could be best betHow will your mutual funds fare in a slowing economy? That's the big question for investors amid forecasts that the economy will cool off in 2007 and likely hold back parts of the stock market. It's also hard to beat 2006.

Women need to save more now to help laterWomen live, on average, seven years longer than men. Often they don't have enough money to live on during those extra years. Women face different financial challenges than men.

NORTH COUNTY BUSINESS

Taking initiativeVISTA – PrAna is a growing North County sports apparel company with a core customer base heavily into climbing and yoga, plus lots of customers who likely forgo the action and simply dig the cutting edge style of their products.

Q&A: Tim Swart; partner in UNIVAfter more than a decade in the action apparel and streetwear industry, Tim Swart and Mirko Mangum earlier this year opted to launch their own label and a retail store on South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, both of which are called UNIV.